TechWhirl: Technical Communication Recap for May 9, 2014

Busy, busy week in the worlds of content and technical communication. Between conferences (WriteTheDocs and ConFab Minnesota), lively discussions on the changes/future of technical writing, and a few great articles here on TechWhirl, there’s lots to keep you occupied well into the weekend. Take advantage of our latest template on help topics, learn some more about when to head for DITA, and vote in our latest poll concerning transferable skills. And see what other folks are talking about on the web with our Tech Writer This Week curation on Storify.

The TechWhirl email discussion list and community forums have been particularly busy this week, which could mean that folks are hard at work facing a few challenges, or just need a break from the conference grind. Either way, lots of debate on tools, templates, approaches, and career outlooks. Register for the forum or subscribe to the email list to take part in the conversations. And don’t forget to check out the archives too.

Have a great weekend!

-Connie and the gang at TechWhirl

If the band you're in, starts playing different tunes, I'll see you on the dark side of the moon. - Pink Floyd

Tech Writer This Week for May 8, 2014

The best technical communication, customer experience and content strategy articles from around the moon.

 Who Adopts DITA?

Who Adopts DITA? And Who Shouldn’t Try?

Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA), with its promise of more structured content authoring and publishing, appeals to a wide variety of businesses that manage large quantities of technical content. Take a look at your business and your content environment when you answer the question “Who adopts DITA?”

 Template Tuesdays

Help Content (Topics) Template

The Help Content template assists in creating the three basic types of help content—concept, task, and reference-—and streamlines the process of organizing content logically and meaningfully for your readers.

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Transferring Skills Between Tech Comm and CXM (poll)

If the silos can come down in the typical business, it may that CXM is the way to do it. So we turn our attention to the practical side of this trend: how can tech comm and other content professionals transfer their skills and move into this growing area?

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